The 32-year-old Thai’s success made up for the failure of the Kingdom in golf and badminton events in which the players promised much only to disappoint yesterday.

South Korean defending champion Kim Min-Ji was the favourite to win the women’s skeet gold but Sutiya stole the show with a determined effort at the Jakabaring Sport City Shooting Range in Palembang.

Sutiya won the competition with 55 points, tying the Asian Games record for the event. She beat Wei Meng of China by one point. Kim earned 42 points to finish third among the six finalists.

“I simply concentrated on bringing out my best and it worked,” said Sutiya after the medals presentation ceremony.

“I have had to overcome quite a few problems especially after changing my technique and my entire shooting gear.

“There were ups and downs as far as my performance is concerned but I was determined to excel at the Asian Games.

“I am now hoping to carry my form to the world championships in South Korea which offer qualifying points for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.”

The two-week world meet starts on Friday (Aug 31).

The Thai kayakers claimed the bronze in the women’s canoe TBR 500m sprint event after finishing third behind a combined Korean squad and China in a tight race.

Korea finished the race in two minutes, 24.788 seconds, just a whisker ahead of China who took the silver in a photo-finish. Thailand were third in 2:26.904min.

The Thais narrowly missed the bronze in another photo-finish yesterday, crossing the finish line in fourth place in the men’s canoe TBR 500m sprint final. Taiwan claimed the gold in the event as China and Indonesia took home the silver and bronze respectively.

Thailand’s pencak silat specialist Tachin Pokjay failed to match the prowess of Mohammed Khaizul Yaacob of Malaysia in the men’s Class J (90kg to 95kg) semi-final and conceded the one-sided battle 5-0 to settle for bronze.

There was a second pencak silat bronze for the Thais when Janejira Wankrue lost to Pipiet Kamelia of the host country 5-0 in the in women’s Class D (60kg to 65kg) semi-finals.

The martial art provided another third-place finish for Thailand later in the day. Adilan Chemaeng was outclassed 5-0 in the men’s Class C (55kg to 60kg) last-four battle by Indonesia’s Hanifan Yudani.

Arinadtha Chavatanont, Preecha Khunjan and Korntawat Samran bagged another equestrian bronze for Thailand in team eventing yesterday. Thailand earlier took the dressage team bronze in the tournament.

After Suphathat Footrakul claimed third place in the jet-ski’s endurance runabout open moto 3 event, Thailand pocketed their seventh bronze of the day through the women’s basketball 3x3 team of Warunee Kitraksa, Amphawa Thuamon, Rujiwan Bunsinprom and Thunchanok Lumdabpang, who edged Taiwan 15-14 in the third-place play-off.

There was heartbreak for both teenage Atthaya Thitikul and the Thai women’s golf team.

The 15-year-old Atthaya, Thailand’s top bet for a medal in golf, fell five strokes short of Yuka Saso of the Philippines in the battle for the women’s individual gold and finished joint-fifth in the race.

The Philippines also claimed the women’s team gold with Thailand settling for fourth place.

Thailand also failed to bag any medal in the men’s event as well after Sadom Kaewkanjana and Kosuke Hamamoto could only manage distant sixth and seventh positions in the individual event.

The Thais finished fourth in the team contest, proving no match for the winners Japan, China (silver) and South Korea (bronze).

In badminton, the two remaining Thai hopes Ratchanok Intanon and Nitchaon Jindapol missed out on a podium finish after both crashed out in the women’s singles quarter-finals yesterday.